New eco-village hits the (plastic) bottle

Recycled plastic bottles have previously been used to make a sustainable home, but an ambitious new project in Panama hopes to use the ubiquitous modern waste product to construct an entire village. It’s early days yet, but the idea is that the aptly-named Plastic Bottle Village will eventually comprise between 90 to 120 homes, each insulated by thousands of plastic bottles.

The brainchild of Canadian entrepreneur Robert Bezeau, Plastic Bottle Village is currently under construction within 83 acres (33.5 ha) of Panamanian jungle. Phase one began in late 2015 and just one single story home has been completed so far, though another two-story castle-style house also nears completion.

Bezeau previously led a now-defunct plastic bottle recycling scheme in Boca Del Toro, Panama. The same bottles collected under that scheme are being used for the Plastic Bottle Village project, and more are being dropped-off by locals every week.